CND Emerald Shimmer

One day I want to have all of the CND Effects. I love them so much. My latest is CND Emerald Shimmer which I bought at a beauty exhibition. Like all the other effect shimmers it is amazing. You need just one coat, it covers evenly. On the pictures I used it over one coat of CND Ink.

It is most beautiful in the sun or under artificial light, so here is one little picture of how it looks in direct sunlight:

OPI Serena Williams Glam Slam! US Open - Review and Swatches

The last Serena Williams set. I will miss them. I found some really amazing polishes in these sets. The US Open duo is one of the best. Have a look:

LOVE IS A RACKET

A beautiful bright mix of flakies and some glitter. I used two coats. Three would be better as you can see.

OPI PROS & BRONZE

Too bad I didn´t have this polish for summer but it will be great for fall too. This is truly amazing. There is gold, copper and pink glitter mixed together. The result is super shiny awesomeness. Two coats. I really like this one.

As I sad, this was the final set. I was very happy about OPI collaborating with Serena as I love such mini collections coming out. If I would have to choose a favourite from all the sets it would definitely be Grape Set Match!

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company

Illamasqua Morale Blush from the Theatre of Nameless Collection - Swatches and Review

Morale was a love at first sight for me. This is my first Illamasqua Blush and only makes me ask myself why haven´t I tried their blushes before? The packaging is larger than I am used to. I like all Illamasqua packaging, this one is no exception. The blush is 4.5g, which will last forever. Morale and Ambition are the first two shimmer finish blushes. Let´s have a closer look at Morale:

The colour is described as a rosed flush. The shimmer is very fine and I can see some gold in the pan:

Now the best thing about the blush is how easy it is to use. It is very well pigmented so you need just a very small amount. It blends well and stays all day long. I haven´t been wearing anything else for the last week! It really depends on you how much you use and what look you want to achieve. Just have a look at these swatches:

I love pink blushes and honestly this is one of the best I tried. Now I just have to figure out which other Illamasqua blushes to try. Any ideas? What are your favourites?

Illamasqua blushes retail £16.50 and are available here.

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company

Nubar Violet Sparkle

I don´t have many Nubar polishes but the ones I have are amazing. Violet Sparkle is from the Sparkle collection from last year. For me one of the best Nubar collections ever. The glitter is great, it covers perfectly in three coats and all the colours of the collection are amazing! But for me this one is the best. Well...of course...it is a purple. I didn´t use a top coat for this swatch but when I wear these, I always use one. Might be my new favourite glitter purple. What do you think?

Orly It´s Up To Blue

One of the polishes I bought at the Interbeauty exhibition. But this colour is not new to me, I already have it in a mini version. In fact I have a very close relationship with it as it was one of my very first polishes. For me, the colour is perfect. I love it so much. However there are some things that could be better...the formula is thin, you need three coats. On the pictures brushstrokes are also visible but not so much in person. Well anyway I forgive this polish all its imperfections and I still love to use it. What about you? Do you have any polishes that remind you of something and you like them more than others?

Nicole By OPI Green Up Your Act versus Finger Paints Vintage Velvet

I have a friend who loves colours like these and when she saw these two she asked me for a comparison  :) So here it is...a very quick one. I am comparing Nicole By OPI Green Up Your Act (GUYA) and Finger Paints Vintage Velvet (VV). Both are two coats. I think the pictures speak for themselves :)

Essie Neo Whimsical

I borrowed this Essie polish from my sister to show you. She loves these light pinks, I don´t much but this one is nice. Essie Neo Whimsical is a bit tricky to take pictures of. In some lights it will appear more pink than on my swatches and in some it will look like this. The hint of violet shows up more here. I like it more this way so this is why I am showing you these pictures. Formula was not bad but I had to use three coats. Hope you have a great Sunday!

OPI It´s My Year versus OPI Rally Pretty Pink versus Zoya Faye

Three beautiful foils for a little comparison today. You wanted to see the differences between OPI It´s My Year (IMY), OPI Rally Pretty Pink (RPP) and Zoya Faye (F). As you can see the last two are very very close, might even call them dupes. On the other hand IMY is a bit different. Depends on you which base colour you like more. On these swatches I used two coats on each so that you can see the differences in opacity. Hope this post helps :)

Eyeko Big Eyes Mascara Review

I have this mascara for about three months now, so I thought I could share my thoughts with you. Starting with the packaging. The Eyeko Big Eyes Masraca comes in a silver tube, so that you can squeeze the product. Good idea but still I just like the classic mascara packaging more. The brush is also different to what I am used to. It is a spiral. Here is a detail:

Now here are my pictures. I just have to warn you. You have to work carefully with this mascara as the brush tends to pick way more of the product than needed. You can very easily end up with huge clumps and spider lashes. Especially when the mascara is new, I recommend to wipe of the brush a bit before you apply the mascara. Here is what it looks like on my lashes:

NO MASCARA

ONE COAT

 TWO COATS

My pictures are without any changes. This is the way the mascara applies. As you can see it adds mostly volume and some length. No matter how hard you will try this mascara is not for a natural look. But if you are looking for big lashes I think you should give it a try. I think it does make very nice lashes but you have to be careful not to use too much product and a lash comb will be useful too. This mascara is easy to remove with warm water and then finish up with a eye makeup remover.

I don´t think this mascara is for everyone but I like to use it for my party makeup when I want some volume on my lashes. However looks like it was discontinued as I didn't find it on the official Eyeko website. Looks like they have three new mascaras.

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company

OPI Touring America Fall 2011 Collection - Swatches and Review

Today I have for you the main OPI Collection for this fall. The Touring America collection is already available in stores. I had the polishes for a while too but I have mixed feelings about the collection so wanted to wear the shades before I post my review. Here are my swatches, my thoughts after :)

ARE WE THERE YET?
A melon orange shimmer. Two coats here.

A-TAUPE THE SPACE NEEDLE

When I swatched this I thought two coats are fine, but now looking at the pictures I think three could have been better. This is really not my type of color, you know :)

COLOR TO DINER FOR

This is my favourite shimmer of the collection. OPI makes some of the best reds I have ever seen so whenever there is a red in the collection I like it. Just remember last fall and Color So Hot It Berns! I so much love that shade. This was two coats.

FRENCH QUARTER FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

There are two greys in this collection. This is a true medium grey. Two coats.

GET IN THE EXPRESSO LANE

A dark brown creme. It is not too dark to look black. Two coats.

HONK IF YOU LOVE OPI

Beautiful dark red purple. Again not too dark to be black. One of my favourites. Two coats again.

I BRAKE FOR MANICURES

This polish is my favourite of the whole collection. I love the name, the color and most of all its formula. This one was just perfect. Two coats and absolute love!

I EAT MAINELY LOBSTER

Coral with tiny gold shimmer. Three coats.

MY ADDRESS IS "HOLLYWOOD"

Dusty pink. Not really my type. I like more bright and neon pinks. Three coats.

ROAD HOUSE BLUES

Oh I love the dark cremes in this collection. This is another pretty one. Two coats.

SUZI TAKES THE WHEEL

The second grey of the collection, this time with a hint of green. I had some problems with this one. It was a bit more watery than the rest. Two coats.

UH-OH ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW

This has a funny name but I don´t like the color. Two coats.

My overall thoughts? This collection has both...colors which I don´t like and would never wear and also amazing dark cremes that I really love. The formula was good but I have seen better in previous OPI collections. I know it must be hard to come up with amazing and breathtaking collections every year (and OPI already did some great collections this year...I loved the Miss Universe, Blue Shatter and others). I absolutely loved the Swiss collection from last year. It had several colours that I love to wear all year round. This year I will be rocking the four dark cremes, the shimmers are not very much my taste except Color To Diner For which is pretty and my least favourite are the greens and greys. But yet again, that is with every collection. I am not a green lover.

What are your thoughts about this collection?

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company

Illamasqua Nudge

This is what I am wearing right now. I love Nudge! It is so creamy, I want to eat my nails. No wonder Illamasqua describes this shade as a mint ice-cream. I have two coats on the pictures and I really like this. I also wanted to ask you. Now that I have all the Illamasqua Nail Varnishes...is there any shade you would like to see? Or is it just fine when I post about them randomly from time to time? Let me know.